Your Rating:

Your Recommendations:

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked,
or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to
Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original
and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you
and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not
violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help
ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer.
However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or
to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the
information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its
sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the
review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.

- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly
those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com
also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by:
Showing
all of
9
Customer Reviews

Page 1 of 1

TheYABookworm

Posted August 29, 2012

When the author first asked me about reviewing Last Kiss in Veni

When the author first asked me about reviewing Last Kiss in Venice, I was immediately intrigued by the synopsis. The instant connection between Charlie and Caitlin (Hey, look! It's my name :D) roped my inner romantic in, while the promise of vampires and magic further enhanced my need to read this book. Last Kiss in Venice was the perfect quick, paranormal read- I enjoyed every minute of it.

The book's plot starts off with the relationship between Charlie and Caitlin. Following the 'Legend of the White Snake', Caitlin has spent thousands of years waiting to find her true love- the one that saved her in her past life. While in Venice with her &quot;sister&quot; Alice, Caitlin and Charlie finally find one another, and immediately fall in love. Now, usually I would be upset with the insta-love thing....but as the book progressed, I realized how it wasn't their journey to one another that mattered, but how the love the two of them shared changed both of them. Their love fueled them to make sacrifices for one another that was necessary for the plot of the story.

The dynamic between Caitlin and her friend Alice was the most enjoyable part of the book. Even though they aren't really sisters, they treat each other as if they are- I felt this relationship was more real than even Charlie and Caitlin's. Alice was my favourite character by far because of her bad ass attitude and her absolute commitment to protecting Caitlin. For the most part, I really loved Caitlin's character as well. Her bravery and determination to save those she loved was admirable. The only thing that kind of ticked me off about this character was how love truly made Caitlin blind. There's a certain point in the book where I felt Caitlin was a bit selfish- wanting nothing more than to be with Charlie, even if it meant putting her unborn child in danger.

The most interesting part of reading this book was learning more about the 'Legend of the White Snake'. Martin reinterpreted the legend in an adaptation that was refreshing and more appealing to today's audience. The entire plot of the story also added a dose of mystery and suspense that kept me tapping my Kindle screen so I could get to the next page :)

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

Valca85

Posted August 21, 2012

This is a fun, quirky retelling of a traditional Chinese tale th

This is a fun, quirky retelling of a traditional Chinese tale that is anice choice for fantasy and romance lovers alike. The plot is reallycaptivating. I wasn’t too familiar with the Chinese story beforebeginning this book, but there is a wonderful sense of mystery in thesepages which invokes that oriental magic I’d imagined in their stories.The characters are well done and amusing, with Alice being the one Ienjoyed most. There was a strength to her personality that I think wouldhave worked well for the protagonist. In this case the heroine, Caitlin,is a bit too passive for my taste. She is not really the take-actionkind of girl, which, for me, makes her a little less interesting. Theway the story was told, through different points of view, was quiteeffective and nicely handled. There was no confusion as to who wasspeaking at any given moment, which can sometimes be tricky. There werea few grammatical issues, but overall it’s in good shape. If you enjoyreading books that are a bit out of the ordinary, a bit different, thenthis one could be for you.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

This book is a retelling of a Chinese legend.
The plot o

This book is a retelling of a Chinese legend.

The plot overall was captivating, Chinese legends are a divergent reading material than what I am used to. This book had a lot of potential with the concept of the Chinese folklore thrown in and idea of a next life. Also, in a world full of fantasy novels the Chinese magic elements are a nice waylay from the mainstream witch.

The plot needed to slow down a bit and have a little more explanation added in. Also there was a certain amount of story development lacking; I felt I had a lot of unanswered questions at the end. The insta-love went a little too far for me in this book, it did not seem real at all and at times the relationship verged on fake and awkward.

Note: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

Mimi97

Posted August 20, 2012

Sparkbug Review: Hey guys, this book, like many of Chushui's oth

Sparkbug Review: Hey guys, this book, like many of Chushui's otherbooks, was pretty good. This one though, was a little different. MoreRomantic less action. Less adventure more depth. Coming from me sayingthis book was great is a lot. You got to see both sides of everything,which made it really easy to actually understand the characters, whatthey were feeling, and why some secrets were kept. It might not seemlike a fast quick read, but once you actually get into it, it will be.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

Karenschoicebooks

Posted August 20, 2012

When I first read the summary, knowing I soon got to the book, I

When I first read the summary, knowing I soon got to the book, I gotreally excited. I was looking forward to read the book. The beginningwas good, we follows Charlie and his journey to Europe. The authorswitches to Caitlin, later when the two main characters meets. MartinChu Shui knows how to switch between the two main characters withoutgetting us confused, he also uses a formal language, with a hint ofhumor in. The plot is great, using an old legend and telling us awonderful love story. But I got the feeling that Martin Chu Shui was inhurry, since Charlie and Caitlin marry each other right away. Eventhough it was true love, then I still think he should have let them waita year before they got married. That kinda reminds me of the princessesin Disney movies, because they all are married in a age of 16, with aguy they barley knows, the end. My favorite character is James Lie, heis super cool and I really liked how he handle the various situations.He is also one of only two characters that I'm completely sure that wasnot insane, the other one was Alice. I liked Alice too, she was strictand strong. Showing Charlie that even if she was a girl, the she couldstill handle things herself. I'm that type of person that never likesthe main characters, so I can honestly say that Charlie is at the top ofmy 'Dislikes' list, Caitlin is right behind him. This because I thinkCharlie is a little too honest, I don't think he needs a brain to thinkfor himself, because he just say everything out loud. And he is sonaive, his conclusions is based on others and that really pisses me off.I dislikes Caitlin too, because she is just happy, all the time. Idisliked her even more at the end, she is just so naive. I liked theending, he can write a sequel or he can just leave it like that. Withother words; the ending was open, but not so open that I was unpleasedwith it. That is something I think was really smart of him to do. Heget's four stars; since the book was good, but I got the feeling that hewas just rushing through the story and wanted it to be finished as soonas possible.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

Barmy_Bex

Posted August 5, 2012

Charlie travels to Venice to take part in some political protest

Charlie travels to Venice to take part in some political protests but whilst he is there he meets Caitlin and Alice. He is at once captivated by Caitlin and feels a deep connection between them. Caitlin knows straight away that she has found her soul-mate. The one she has been waiting for, searching for hundreds of years.But love can't come easily for these two, Caitlin has a secret, one that could make Charlie run from her, and fate doesn't seem to like happy endings and the couple have all sorts of problems thrown at them.This book is more romance focused but there is still plenty of action to keep you hooked. The story is based on an old Chinese Legend of 'The White Snake'. It is a modern retelling and really brings it into the current day.

I love the setting and the descriptions, I could really picture Venice and the River bridge where they meet, the place really comes to life in my mind. the imagery is great!The characters are also bursting with life and personality and become like old friends, and you really see them evolve through the book, especially Charlie. He really grows up and has to learn who he really is and what he wants from life, all whilst trying to hold on to the woman of his dreams.

There is plenty here to capture both your heart and mind, this book brings a fresh story, that incorporates many popular themes whilst maintaining it's own originality.

Definitely worth a read.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

Daniela07

Posted August 4, 2012

Lovely!

Long before Charlie was born, back in China, a young man saved the life of a beautiful white snake. And he promised it that one day, maybe a couple of lifetimes later when the snake is reborn as a human, he would marry it. Lifetimes later, Charlie packs his things to visit Venice to protest against Global Warming. While he's visiting, he meets the beautiful Caitlin in her flowing white dress and cupid struck an arrow through his heart. It was literally love at first sight for the both of them. And even though Caitlin forces herself to take it slow, they both admit their love to each other soon enough. They go out, Charlie proposes, they get marry, and move to Australia. It's a fairy-tale with the perfect happy ending, but this is life, not a fairy tale, and something always gets in the way of a happy ending.
Charlie is having the time of his life with the woman he loves, but strange things are going on. Caitlin isn't entirely human. She's actually not a human at all and she doesn't know how to break this news to Charlie. She's hoping she won't have to, but there are dark forces after her. Can their love be saved from those who wish to destroy it? Will Charlie accept her for who and what she is if she tells him? Will she still be alive to love him?
Last Kiss in Venice is a beautiful re-telling that kept me entranced throughout the entire novel. It's told from two different POVs, Caitlin's and Charlie's. I was curious to know how Charlie would react to all this supernatural stuff and what would happen to Caitlin.
It's an romantic adventure I'm glad to have stumbled upon. There were some mistakes here and there, a couple of misspellings, punctuation marks missing, and some wrong use of words, but the story itself was amazing.
Charlie was somewhat ignorant, but I liked the fact that he never gave up on what he believed. He acted like a fool sometimes, but he wasn't annoying or anything. He was a guy in love after all. I didn't really get in depth with his character, but it wasn't hard to figure out what he was feeling or thinking. I did feel like slapping him so he would wake up to the reality a couple of times, but it wasn't so bad.
Caitlin's character was much more stronger. I accepted her as the heroine but I didn't entirely love her character. She was sweet, loving, and ready to give everything up for the man she loved, which is definitely something I admired in her. With everything she's done to protect Charlie from the evils, I couldn't not like her. The only downfall in their relationship was that is was incredibly fast and it didn't feel as real. Other than that, I loved the connection between them.
The plot was spellbinding. At first I wasn't so sure since it started off sort of bumpy, but then once I got past the marriage and all, it got better. I was really interested in the story, once it had my attention, it definitely wasn't letting go. The only other problem I had was that the entire novel felt rushed. The pace was incredibly fast and I didn't really get the chance to let everything sink. One second Charlie and Caitlin met, the next thing I knew, they were married and off living in Australia.
The settings were interesting. I felt like I was on a vacation to these amazing places, but there wasn't much detail to picture myself actually being there. I knew how it might look, but the story itself wasn't giving me the images.
Overall, I really enjoyed Last Kiss in Venice. It's romantic, refreshing, and thrilling all the

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

BookmarkReviews

Posted August 4, 2012

When Charlie goes to Venice to protest against corporate greed a

When Charlie goes to Venice to protest against corporate greed and their affect on global warming, his path collides with the love of his life, Caitlin. They soon fall head over heals for each other and decide to start a new life in Australia together; The perfect life. That is, until a group of men start to hunt them down! Charlie discovers that Caitlin isn't who he thought she was. Caitlin and her sister must protect themselves, but most importantly they must protect the ones they love!

I enjoyed how the author created some mixed characters. While Caitlin was strong willed and caring, Charlie was very naive and careless. I liked the harmony that they brought to the story. Surprisingly, I got attached to the side characters more than the main ones. I liked Alice because she seemed to be less naive and more aware of what she was doing. She only cared for Caitlin and didn't really get attached to anyone else. Even with Charlie, she didn't seem to happy about seeing him everyday.

The Last Kiss in Venice had a nice feel to it. It didn't go overboard with the romance, nor did it have an extensive history of magic and fantastic creatures. Although as I'm a fantasy fan, I liked how the author created his world. Alice and Caitlin weren't too powerful as to make it another one of those stories where the main characters never get hurt. Their powers were vague, but when a spell came up it was usually explained. The only thing I disliked was the magical flying, which I had no idea what it was and found a bit outlandish..

I found myself getting very annoyed by the love at first sight theme. In that two second span, where Charlie sees Caitlin, it seems his whole personality changed. Then he became a bit more irritating and annoying! The romance theme really got to me. It felt like they were too much in love, if that's even possible. It almost seemed as if they were obsessive. Okay I might be exaggerating a bit but I didn't like it one bit!

Apart from the previous dilemma I had with the novel, it was excellent even if it wasn't a genre I would seek out on my own!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful? YesNoThank you for your feedback.Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.